Stalwart’s family upset over ANC’s 'exploitation'

Struggle stalwart Raymond Mhlaba spent 25 years on Robben Island for fighting the apartheid regime.

Struggle stalwart Raymond Mhlaba spent 25 years on Robben Island for fighting the apartheid regime.

Published Jul 29, 2016

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Johannesburg - The surviving relatives of Struggle stalwart Raymond Mhlaba have become the latest prominent ANC family to rebel against the ruling party.

Mhlaba was the Eastern Cape’s first premier and spent 25 years on Robben Island for fighting the apartheid regime.

Oom Ray, as he was affectionately known, succumbed to cancer in 2005 and is buried in a Port Elizabeth cemetery.

His family expressed their disgust at the ANC for exploiting Mhlaba’s name to garner votes before the hotly contested municipal elections next week.

Addressing the provincial Siyanqoba rally in the metro last week, ANC leaders invoked the names of Mhlaba and other Struggle stalwarts, saying they would turn in their graves if the municipality fell under DA control after the elections.

“This did not sit well with us,” said one of Mhlaba’s granddaughters on day. She was speaking on behalf of the family. She did not want to be named for fear of reprisals.

“How can they use our grandfather’s name for electioneering purposes while they have done absolutely nothing to honour him?”

Earlier this year, Lindela Tshwete, the son of Struggle stalwart Steve Tshwete, reportedly said he had joined the DA because “the ANC of today is not the ANC my father fought for”.

Weekend media reports also alleged family members of the ANC’s longest-serving president, Oliver Reginald “OR” Tambo, were disgruntled. The family said that although they loved “OR’s ANC, the ones who are in charge now, from councillors to the top, are doing wrong things”.

Former president Thabo Mbeki has also conspicuously failed to endorse before the elections the party he once led.

The Mhlaba family, however, said they still loved the ANC and would die in the organisation.

“We are just not happy with the manner in which our family in Fort Beaufort is being treated. We are really disappointed in the ANC,” the family spokeswoman said.

“Our wish is that the ANC takes note of the contribution made by Struggle stalwarts like Oom Ray. The ANC has done nothing to honour our grandfather. Look, we don’t want their money but we would like them to at least maintain his home in Fort Beaufort. It’s falling apart. We support the ANC full-time and we believe that the party can honour Oom Ray by maintaining his home.”

The Mhlaba family said they had written to the premier’s office in 2014, asking for assistance regarding the upkeep of the homestead.

Instead, an official from Bhisho, the provincial capital, “told us that kufuneka silime (we must plough the fields). We never heard from them again.”

The family said there were plans to change the Nkonkobe Local Municipality’s name to Raymond Mhlaba.

“If that happens, surely it’s going to draw tourists and documentary-makers? We’re worried about the condition they’ll find our home in.”

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@luyolomkentane

The Star

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